Chief Executive's Foreword
The global economy is suffering its biggest economic downturn since the 1930s. Many of our trading partners are experiencing negative or zero growth.
In this context, the immediate priority is to support firms through the recession and ensure New Zealand is well placed for eventual global recovery.
As the Government has stated, helping firms survive and prosper means reducing the regulatory and compliance burden placed on them – especially small firms, which are disproportionately affected by the resulting costs. It means investing in infrastructure as a way of helping New Zealand's economy recover and raising productivity. It means delivering effective, well-targeted support to help businesses survive and grow. And it means using scarcer taxpayer resources as effectively as possible.
This Statement of Intent is one key way in which we show how we will help the Government achieve these priorities, and the difference this work will make for New Zealanders. Read together with the Information Supporting the Estimates of Appropriations, it shows the links between taxpayer dollars, the services we provide, and the results we are seeking.
This year, we have focused on defining these results more clearly and measuring whether we are achieving them over the medium term.
This is not easy – the areas we work in are complex, and there are many different influences on whether the results are achieved. However, interpreted with care, and taken together with the more immediate performance measures set out in the Information Supporting the Estimates of Appropriations, this information should help us build a better picture of whether the Ministry is making a difference for New Zealanders.
David Smol
Chief Executive
May 2009
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